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land degradation News

Lack of data and poor communication by scientists may be keeping land degradation and desertification off the sustainable development agenda, experts warned the UN Convention to Combat Desertification's (UNCCD) 2nd Scientific Conference last week (9–12 April). The fear is that these challenges could cause land ...

Conference "Land and soil degradation – post Rio+20", Brussels Ladies and gentlemen, As we approach the end of the first part of this morning’s session, allow me to start by welcoming you again to this Conference. It is a pleasure to see so many eminent experts present here today. We have a very important task. We are here to start painting the first layers of the “future we ...

Climate change, tourism and population growth are all accelerating land degradation in the Mediterranean region, according to recent research. This can have severe impacts: the amount of available agricultural land per capita in the region could have dropped by half by 2020, compared with 1961, the study estimates. The Mediterranean region covers about 850 million hectares in 22 countries across ...

Improved varieties of the tropical, nutritious 'Sahel Apple' tree allied to the setting up of market gardens and community nature reserves are helping to turn the tide of land-degradation and desertification in some African countries, a new study shows. In other countries on the Continent, communities are testing the re-introduction of extinct grass species, the deployment of rainwater ...

An informative video outlining the PRAIS initiative has been launched. Unique amongst the Rio Convention, PRAIS utilises an interactive online portal to collate information from 192 countries on quantifiable actions towards the UNCCD's 10 Year Strategy for poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. Desertification, land degradation and drought affect over one and a half billion people in ...

The groundbreaking Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) today agreed to develop a set of assessments on pollination and food production, land degradation and invasive species aimed at providing policymakers with the tools to tackle pressing environmental challenges. Around 400 delegates from over 100 governments, scientific organizations, civil society and the ...

In Indonesia, policy-makers and industry leaders are developing policies and practices in support of low-carbon palm oil production on “degraded land.” Such policies and practices have the potential to enable industry expansion while avoiding greenhouse gas emissions from ...

Desert environments are characterized by poor vegetative cover, strong winds, dry, non-cohesive sandy soils, and hyper-arid conditions. In this context, the land resources of Abu Dhabi Emirate in the United Arab Emirates are subjected to various land degradation stresses, including wind erosion, salinization, waterlogging, landfilling, and overgrazing. To sustain the land resources of Abu Dhabi ...

Human activities can have a multitude of different effects on rivers and streams, and it is difficult to identify those that have the biggest impact on aquatic populations. A newly developed method for assessing ecological degradation in waterways helps deal with this problem and could provide crucial information for water managers charged with tackling the root causes of degradation. In the EU, ...

Good morning Excellencies, representatives from the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development, the European Commission, UNCCD, Esteemed Experts, Fellow Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. We are having these discussions today to launch a new report, which points out, in no uncertain terms, the scale and complexities of land degradation, erosion and desertification in the world, ...

During the presentation of case studies of Dr. Alvaro Fresno by the company Hera Tratesa, SST was presented to the speakers. The generated great interest and an interesting debate on the need for such systems. The course was held in the ...

Global warming may dominate headlines today. Ecosystem degradation will do so tomorrow. To prepare businesses for this new landscape, three organizations today launched a set of guidelines designed to help companies proactively develop strategies to manage risks and opportunities arising from ecosystem degradation. The guidelines, called the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review ( 3.5 MB) were ...

FAO has begun widespread consultations over the first ever international guidelines on governance of tenure to land and other natural resources such as water supplies, fisheries and forests. The consultations and negotiations, responding to requests from the international community and from governments, will take more than a year to complete. They will involve governments, the private sector, ...

Environmental degradation is a significant factor that reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. This is the key message of the World Risk Report 2012, presented today in Brussels, Belgium by the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature ...

Global warming may dominate headlines today. Ecosystem degradation will do so tomorrow. To prepare businesses for this new landscape, three organizations today launched a set of guidelines designed to help companies proactively develop strategies to manage risks and opportunities arising from ecosystem degradation. The guidelines, called the 'Corporate Ecosystem Services Review,' were developed ...

Restoring lost and damaged ecosystems-from forests and freshwaters to mangroves and wetlands-can trigger multi-million dollar returns that generate jobs and combat poverty according to a new report compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The report, Dead Planet, Living Planet: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration for Sustainable Development, states that far from being a tax on ...

A new study from researchers at the University of British Columbia shows how the effects of climate change are impacting fisheries. According to the study, gross revenues from marine capture fisheries worldwide are estimated at between US$80 billion and $85 billion annually. With ocean warming, many species will ...

Environmental degradation is a significant factor that reduces the capacity of societies to deal with disaster risk in many countries around the world. This is the key message of the World Risk Report 2012, presented today in Brussels, Belgium by the German Alliance for Development Works (Alliance), United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and The Nature ...

How much land can the world use to produce food, build towns and extract natural resources, and still develop in a sustainable way? This critical question is at the heart of a new report from the International Resource Panel, to be released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on 24 January. The report, entitled, Assessing Global Land Use: Balancing Consumption with Sustainable ...

For the second year running, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has announced the winners of the 2013 Land for Life Award with a USD 100,000 cash award, to shine the spotlight on organizations that show tangible evidence in combating desertification, land degradation and drought. The announcement was made as part of the worldwide celebrations of the World Day to ...

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